Best March on record in flow of labor
Employment flows continued in positive territory in March, though the number of new jobs was smaller than that in February, the Labor Ministry’s Ergani database showed on Monday. The net flow last month was the highest recorded for the month of March since 2001.
Hirings outnumbered dismissals by 14,567 salaried jobs, taking the balance of the first quarter of the year to a positive 40,876 jobs. In March last year the balance favored hirings by 8,950 jobs, while in the first quarter of 2013 the net result was negative by 8,838 jobs.
The ministry attributes this development to the higher number of hirings recorded last month compared with a year earlier, by 43,991. However, an major part in the growth of hirings has been played by more flexible forms of labor and the maintenance of a high rate in part-time or rotational employment. Out of the 277,362 hirings in the January-March period, 142,767 concerned full employment and 134,767 hirings were for part-time or rotational work.
It has been a year since the Ergani system first went into operation, with Labor Minister Yiannis Vroutsis making special reference to the “crucial use of this innovative system” as it relieves employers from queueing up to declare their hirings or dismissals.
